Now, what do I do? After 30+ hours of travel, I have arrived in Zagreb, Croatia where I’ve rented a lovely little studio apartment for a month. I am a vagabond now, with no permanent home and most of my belongings in luggage with me here in the beautiful capital city. I have read that Game of Thrones has several shooting locations in Croatia, now if only I’ve watched it. Yes, I’m one of the few who hasn’t seen it. I want to but haven’t had the opportunity, yet. The headlines for some current plot twist are everywhere right now, and I have to keep dodging tweets and posts to avoid spoilers. Okay, I’ve established I haven’t seen GOT, and I’m vagabonding in eastern Europe. I’ve been here a couple weeks and have been taking the time to acclimate. The jet lag was a challenge this time traveling and the heatwave hasn’t helped. I’m in my early 50’s now and bounding across time zones means a longer recovery period for me. Temps in the 90’sF have brought struggles, but I’m not complaining knowing my prior residence, Fairbanks, Alaska will soon start to freeze and go dark for the winter. I won’t miss that.

My plan is to begin networking and meet women working in soccer/football, to interview them for the blog and tell their stories to the world. Croatia’s women’s team is currently ranked #54 in FIFA’s ranking, and I’d like to learn about the challenges that come with that and the successes.

I believe it’s important to share stories and images from around the globe of how women in different cultures experience football. Learning these stories broadens our perspectives of what is happening currently and how one person’s experiences impact the past and the future. Stories from female footballers and women working in the sport can model what needs to change and for others show what is possible. It’s all perspective, and I’d like to share as many personal experiences as possible to put faces to cultural practices both positive and negative. When we see these strong wonderful images of women in football, we can believe it for ourselves or for future generations. Some readers may have never considered they too could make a career in football or to play at a higher level. Some may be inspired to create a career in football after their playing career. The images might broaden the thinking of prejudice against women playing football; misogynistic views might shift; mothers might say yes to letting their daughter’s play; more people might attend matches.

These are the thoughts that have inspired me to travel and meet you. I hope we cross paths: I’d love to hear your story. I hope to broaden perspectives and allow us all deeper into the game and further into the future. The future is female. The future is football.